World Tour

Norway: goodbye

When he walked into the bakery Brett was eying him curiously. 
¨Everything okay?¨ he asked. 
¨Yeah, absolutely. I'll tell you later, okay?¨
¨Okay¨.

They enjoyed the Norwegian food and the company one more time, and then they had to say goodbye to some of their new friends who wouldn't be going to America before they set off for the concert, promising their new friends to stay in touch.

¨So, what was up with Sophie?¨ Brett asked, the second they were alone. 
Eddy took his hand. 
¨She wanted to know if we were okay. It was really sweet.¨
As Eddy relayed the conversation they'd had to Brett, he saw Brett's eyes relaxing. 
¨Hey! Were you worried?¨
Brett looked away, and Eddy knew it was true. 
¨Brett! Dude! Look at me! Why were you worried? Did you think she was hitting on me or something?¨
Very quietly Brett admitted: 
¨The thought crossed my mind... I'm so sorry. I've really got to get a grip on this.¨
¨Even if she had, do you really think that would have made a difference?¨
Brett looked at him. 
¨No, I don't think it would have.¨
¨Good!¨ Eddy said. ¨And now stop worrying!¨
Brett laughed softly. 
¨And Brett, as soon as we get to New York and the time difference is doable, I want to call home. We should get this over with, so we can stop hiding from the people around us. You good with that?¨
Brett looked at him with warm eyes. 
¨Yeah. Shitting myself, but good with that.¨
Eddy burst out laughing. 
¨Same!!¨

Walking into the church was an experience in itself, it really was. They'd been to a million concerts, and had always been just members of the audience. Often friends, greeted happily, sometimes strangers. 
But to walk in and be met with blatant surprise, raucous enthusiasm and a soloist completely freaked out by their presence, now that was something new completely. 
Wow, was this how it was going to be now? Anywhere classical they went they would be guests of honour or something? Weird. 

It was lovely though, to be at a concert. Despite the freezing cold church benches. Seriously, who designed those things? And did they deliberately try to make people as uncomfortable as humanly possible? ¨Thou shalt not be comfortable in the house of the Lord¨, or some shit like that?
The students were actually really good and Eddy felt himself relax into being just listener, rather than performer. He looked sideways at Brett, who had leaned out of the pew,  his elbows on his knees, head resting on his hands. Listening. Relaxed.
He was glad they'd gone.

They didn't have any time to hang after the concert, but they paid their compliments and thanked the students, before making their way back to the hotel to pack up. 

¨And that was another country¨, Eddy mused in the taxi to the airport.
¨We're gonna need two months when we get back to sort through all the experiences in our heads!¨
Brett just nodded. 

It was another night time flight, and this one didn't fall so nicely: they were landing in the middle of the night. 
So Eddy felt like he was wading through wall paper paste, as they stood in America, waiting for their luggage to arrive, and as they made their way over to the transfer. 
They both fell asleep again in the taxi, and the driver had to wake them up when they were in front of their hotel. 
Fuck, this was seriously going to mess up his sleep cycles, at this rate. 
They managed to get themselves checked in, so that they could stumble into their new room and drop on the bed fully clothed. 
Everything else could wait until they were actually awake.